Blog
The Houston Astros hold significant Box-Toppers points advantages over the Philadelphia Phillies in the 2022 World Series.
The Astros were Box-Toppers’ second-ranked team in the regular season while the Phillies were 13th overall, just barely above the middle of the pack of all 30 teams. The Astros are the highest-ranked American League team in Box-Toppers rankings, while the Phillies are the lowest-ranking National League postseason team.
Read MoreJ.D. Martinez of the Red Sox is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in Monday’s American League Championship Series Game 3.
Martinez homered, doubled and went 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 12-3 win over the Astros. The Red Sox take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven game series.
Read MoreRed Sox pitcher Nick Pivetta and Leury Garcia of the White Sox are Box-Toppers Player of the Game winners in Sunday’s pair of American League Division Series games.
Read MoreThe Boston Red Sox hold nearly all the advantages over the Houston Astros in the coming American League Championship Series.
But the Astros are the defending World Series champions and return in 2018 with a largely unchanged roster and even more wins than they had last season (103 vs. 101).
Read MoreChristian Vazquez of the Red Sox is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in Tuesday’s deciding Game 4 of the American League Division Series.
Read MoreGiants pitcher Jeff Samardzija is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Monday, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer (23.0 Box-Toppers points) rises to first place in season player rankings, passing previous leader, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, after earning Player of the Game honors. Kershaw (22.1 Box-Toppers points) had led since May 17, even though he had been on the disabled list since July 24.
Read MoreDodgers pitcher Kenta Maeda is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Tuesday, Nolan Arenado of the Rockies rises to lead National League batter in Box-Toppers points for the season after earning Player of the Game honors. Plus, Albert Pujols of the Angels moves with 0.2 career Box-Toppers points of “all-time” batting leader Alex Rodriguez.
Read More
Tigers pitcher Matthew Boyd is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Boyd pitched six scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out six, in the 2-1 win over the Twins.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | pi sp | nym nl | 3.0 |
| 2 | Verlander, Justin 2112 | pi sp | det al | 2.7 |
| 3 | Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 2.7 |
| 4 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 2.0 |
| 5 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 2.0 |
| 6 | Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | pi sp | cle al | 2.0 |
| 7 | Martinez, Carlos 3371 | pi sp | stl nl | 2.0 |
| 8 | Finnegan, Brandon 3535 | pi sp | cin nl | 2.0 |
| 9 | Mazara, Nomar 3614 | rf | tex al | 2.0 |
| 10 | Boyd, Matthew 3550 | pi sp | det al | 2.0 |
Boyd earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, his first of the season, and rises to 10th place in Box-Toppers season player rankings.
National League Player of the Day—Marcell Ozuna of the Marlins hit two homers and went 2-for-2, driving in six runs, in the 8-4 win over the Braves.
American League Batter of the Day—Christian Vazquez of the Red Sox tripled, doubled and went 4-for-4, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 8-1 win over the Orioles.
National League Batter of the Day—There is no separate NL Batter of the Day for Tuesday because the overall NL Player of the Day was batter Marcell Ozuna.
Rankings—Indians pitcher Carlos Carrasco rises to sixth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday. Carrasco (7IP 4H R 0BB 7K ND in the 2-1, 10-inning win over the White Sox) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 2.0 for the season.
Notable—Yoenis Cespedes of the Mets hit three home runs and earned Player of the Game honors the 14-4 win over the Phillies. However, Cespedes had the fourth-highest Box-Toppers game score (+6.0) among all players and the second-highest among NL batters (Ozuna had a Box-Toppers game score of +8.0). So, despite Cespedes’s three home runs, he did not earn Box-Toppers bonus points for being overall Player of the Day, NL Player of the Day or NL Batter of the Day. In addition to his home runs, Cespedes doubled and went 4-for-6, scoring three times and driving in five runs.
It was the second time in his career Cespedes hit three home runs in a game. He also did it on Aug. 21, 2015, when he had a Box-Toppers game score of +11.0, which was the highest game score for a batter in all of 2015.
Scoring—Boyd earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Ozuna earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Vazquez earns 1.5 points for being AL Batter of the Day. All of Tuesday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
Box-Toppers strives for accuracy. See a mistake in a post? A wrong name, wrong team, grammar error, spelling goof, etc.? Thanks for pointing it out! Contact Box-Toppers here. Let's fix it and make it right.
| 4/11 | Score | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 9.0 | DET 2, MIN 1 | Matthew Boyd (W,1-1) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | |
| NL | 8.0 | MIA 8, ATL 4 | Marcell Ozuna, LF | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 8.0 | `CLE 2, CHW 1 (F/10) | Carlos Carrasco | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | ||
| 6.0 | NYM 14, PHI 4 | Yoenis Cespedes, LF | 6 | 3 | 4 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 6.0 | WSH 8, STL 3 | Daniel Murphy, 2B | 5 | 2 | 4 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 5.2 | ARI 4, SF 3 | Robbie Ray (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 8 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | BOS 8, BAL 1 | Christian Vazquez, C | 4 | 2 | 4 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | CIN 6, PIT 2 | Scooter Gennett, 2B | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | HOU 7, SEA 5 | Evan Gattis, PH | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | `MIL 4, TOR 3 | Corey Knebel (H,1) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | COL 3, SD 2 | Antonio Senzatela (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 | ||
| 1.0 | LAA 6, TEX 5 (F/10) | Carlos Perez, C | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Player of Game | Pos | Team | ’17 | ’16-17 | ’12-17 | Career | +/- |
| Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | pi sp | cle al | 2.0 | 14.4 | 43.1 | 48.5 | -10.4 |
| Boyd, Matthew 3550 | pi sp | det al | 2.0 | 8.1 | 9.1 | 9.1 | -4.1 |
| Senzatela, Antonio 3760 | pi sp | col nl | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| Ozuna, Marcell 3190 | lf | fla nl | 1.7 | 6.7 | 20.2 | 20.2 | -3.3 |
| Vazquez, Christian 3380 | ca | bos al | 1.5 | 2.5 | 5.5 | 5.5 | 0.5 |
| Cespedes, Yoenis 3008 | lf | nym nl | 1.0 | 9.0 | 40.9 | 40.9 | -7.0 |
| Murphy, Daniel 2589 | 2b | dc nl | 1.0 | 8.5 | 29.5 | 33.5 | -6.5 |
| Ray, Robbie 3502 | pi sp | ari nl | 1.0 | 7.7 | 11.7 | 11.7 | -5.7 |
| Gattis, Evan 3179 | ca ph | hou al | 1.0 | 6.0 | 12.0 | 12.0 | -4.0 |
| Gennett, Scooter 3254 | 2b | cin nl | 1.0 | 3.5 | 12.5 | 12.5 | -1.5 |
| Perez, Carlos 3484 | ca | ana al | 1.0 | 2.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | -0.5 |
| Knebel, Corey 3757 | pi mr | mil nl | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 |
Nationals pitcher Gio Gonzalez, Thursday’s Player of the Day, becomes the 57th player this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points.
Gonzalez pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out 12, in the 3-0 win over the Mets. He earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 11.0 for the season. He ranks 44th among all players and 18th among National League pitchers.
In 2013, 54 players earned 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points.
Yankees pitcher Hiroki Kuroda is American League Player of the Day. Kuroda struck out nine over eight innings in the 6-5 win over the Orioles. After Kuroda left the game, the Orioles tied it at 5-5, so he was not eligible for the win, picking up the no decision.
Kuroda earned Player of the Game honors over teammate, the retiring Derek Jeter, who drove in the winning run on a dramatic, walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth in his final game at Yankee Stadium. However, Jeter had the second-highest Box-Toppers game score among Yankees Thursday of +1 (he went 2-for-5 with a run and three RBIs) while Kuroda’s score was +10.
Christian Vazquez of the Red Sox is AL Batter of the Day. Vazquez homered and doubled and went 4-for-4, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 11-1 win over the Rays.
Pablo Sandoval of the Giants is NL Batter of the Day. Sandoval went 3-for-3 and drove in four runs in the 9-8 win over the Padres.
Notable: Marlins pitcher Steve Cishek ranks 21st among NL pitchers in Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday. Cishek (1IP 0R 2K Sv in the 6-4 win over the Phillies) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 11.0 for the season. He ranks 47th among all players.
Gonzalez receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Kuroda receives 1.7 for AL Player of the Day. Vazquez and Morrison each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.
All of Thursday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) receive 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
Box-Toppers watches the daily performances of selected star players and Box-Toppers points leaders. To see how they performed, click here.
NOTE: The usual weekly Friday reports of Box-Toppers team and player rankings will wait this week until the season's final games are completed Sunday. Look for Box-Toppers final team rankings and player rankings reports for the season on Monday—or thereabouts.
Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. Players earn Box-Toppers points for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 925 | Score | Team | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | 16.0 | Nationals | Gio Gonzalez (W, 10-10) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 12 | |
| 12.0 | Pirates | Edinson Volquez (W, 13-7) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | ||
| AL | 10.0 | `Yankees | Hiroki Kuroda | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 9 | |
| BAT | 5.0 | Red Sox | Christian Vazquez C | 4 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | Mariners | Logan Morrison LF, 1B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | Giants | Pablo Sandoval 3B | 3 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | Mets | Curtis Granderson RF | 4 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Tigers | Joe Nathan (S, 34) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 3.0 | Marlins | Steve Cishek (S, 39) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | Royals | Lorenzo Cain CF, RF | 5 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Reds | Aroldis Chapman (S, 35) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 1.0 | `Rangers | Colby Lewis | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 7 |
` Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.
Angels pitcher Garrett Richards, Friday’s Player of the Day, rises to sixth place in Box-Toppers player rankings. Meanwhile, Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez rises to fifth place in rankings.
Richards pitched seven scoreless innings and struck out eight in the 3-0 win over the Rangers. Richards earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 12.7 for the season, rising to sixth place among all players. (See the updated top 10 player list on the home page.) He is in fourth place among American League pitchers.
Hernandez rises from eighth to fifth place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Friday. (See the updated top 10 player list on the home page.) Hernandez struck out nine over eight innings, allowing two runs, in the 3-2 win over the Athletics. He earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 12.8 for the season and is in third place among AL pitchers.
Giants pitcher Tim Lincecum is National League Player of the Day. Lincecum pitched seven scoreless innings and struck out six in the 5-0 win over the Diamondbacks. Lincecum earned 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 10.4 for the season, moving into 12th place in Box-Toppers player rankings. He is the 15th player this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points.
Richards and Lincecum had identical Box-Toppers game scores of 8.0, but Richards earned overall Player of the Day honors on a tiebreaker—he had more strikeouts, eight vs. six.
David Wright of the Mets is NL Batter of the Day. Wright homered, went 4-for-4, scored twice and drove in two runs, in the 7-1 win over the Marlins.
Christian Vazquez of the Red Sox is AL Batter of the Day. Vazquez went 3-for-4, scored twice and drove in three runs, in the 8-3 win over the Astros. This was Vazquez’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time he has earned Player of the Game honors. He is the 3,380th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995. He made his Major League debut July 9 and was playing in his second game.
Richards receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Lincecum receives 1.7 for NL Player of the Day. Wright and Vazquez each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.
All of Friday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) receive 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
Box-Toppers watches the daily performances of selected star players and Box-Toppers points leaders. To see how they performed Friday, click here.
Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. Players earn Box-Toppers points for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 711 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | 8.0 | Angels | Garrett Richards (W, 11-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | |
| NL | 8.0 | Giants | Tim Lincecum (W, 9-5) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | |
| 5.0 | Mariners | Felix Hernandez (W, 11-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 9 | ||
| 4.1 | Blue Jays | Aaron Loup (W, 3-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | Mets | David Wright 3B | 4 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| BAT | 4.0 | Red Sox | Christian Vazquez C | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | Indians | Cody Allen (S, 11) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 4.0 | Reds | Aroldis Chapman (S, 20) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 3.0 | Cardinals | Matt Holliday LF | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Phillies | Jimmy Rollins SS | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Padres | Jesse Hahn (W, 5-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 6 | ||
| 3.0 | `Orioles | Miguel Gonzalez | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 5 | ||
| 2.0 | Rockies | Brandon Barnes PH | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | Cubs | Chris Coghlan LF | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 0.0 | Tigers | Austin Jackson CF | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
` Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.
Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. Players earn Box-Toppers points for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.